Sports boots with elastic linings are known in the art.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,147,197 discloses a sports boot constituted by an inner elastic sock anchored by its base on the sole and by a partial external upper provided with tightening means for the foot and fixed onto the sole completely independently of the sock.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,531 discloses a similar boot, adapted more specifically for aerobics, that includes a sort of inner half-sock completely surrounding the front foot and whose base is anchored on the outer sole, the sock being free to "grip" the foot independently of the outer upper.
The aim of such boots is to be more comfortable and "stretchable" with respect to ordinary boots.
Furthermore, the special elastic half-sock structure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,531 is meant to enable the boot to fully adapt itself to the foot, i.e., to follow the latter during the quick movements that are undertaken in such a discipline.
In a boot more specifically adapted to gliding sports, the problems encountered are totally different and consequently, are not resolved by the boots described in the above-cited patents. Indeed, in gliding sports, one of the most important issues that needs solving is the balance problem, due to the fact that the sport is practiced on a "gliding" element that is thus mobile with respect to the ground. It therefore becomes necessary for the sportsman to perceive positive spatial sensations, both from his or her limbs as well as from the sliding member.
Thus, the critical factor is the transmission of information coming from the sliding member towards the foot and the leg.
A problem of this type has already been addressed in the field of cross-country skiing by the Applicant in its French patent publication No. 2,690,050, published on Oct. 22, 1993, as regards researching the transmission of information originating from the ski towards the ankle, when no mechanical connection exists between the upper and the ankle, or in a case wherein such linkage is obtained by a rigid collar extending an upper portion of said upper.
It has been suggested that this problem can be solved by arranging a collar extending from the top of the upper towards the ankle, such collar being made of a stretchable material so as to ensure an exact fit thereof to the contours of the ankle and to thus provide a sensor effect in connection with the foot-sensor constituted by the tightening of the instep of the upper of the boot, the tightening ensuring retention of the foot.
Although this solution has substantially improved the manner in which information is transmitted, it is nonetheless incomplete, because the chain of transmission is interrupted in the area of the foot, or at least disturbed, by the presence of the rigid portions constituting the upper.